September/October 2000 | Contents

THE BUSH/GORE SCORECARD

BY DERRICK WETHERELL

In pursuit of their parties' nominations, both Al Gore and George W. Bush have topped the amount of media money raised by Bill Clinton for his 1996 run. Both have topped $1 million since 1993. Gore's media money -- nearly 1.2 million since 1993 -- comes mostly from three large conglomerates: Time Warner, Viacom, and Disney. Bush's money -- just over $1 million in the same period -- comes mostly from smaller, regional broadcast and cable companies.

Gore's relationship to big media is a long one. In October, 1987, Michael "Mickey" Kantor -- a lobbyist, fundraiser, and later chairman of the Clinton-Gore 1992 campaign, as well as the administration's first Trade Representative -- arranged a meeting in the executive dining room of MCA's Hollywood headquarters. According to The Washington Post, bigwigs from the entertainment industry sat down with Gore, at the time a candidate for the 1988 Democratic nomination, and his wife, Tipper. A major topic was the couple's 1985 campaign against raw lyrics in pop records. The Senate hearings that grew out of that campaign -- in which Frank Zappa and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister testified -- were a mistake, they said, that had "sent the wrong message," as Mrs. Gore put it. Ever since, Gore has counted entertainment and media executives among top supporters.

Gore's Top Media Donors 2000*

COMPANY	AMOUNT
Viacom	$90,675
Time Warner	$57,200
Cablevision	$53,200
America Online	$25,750
News Corp.	$24,000

* as of June 30, 2000

Gore is close enough to Steven Spielberg that the filmmaker is one of just a handful of friends to stay overnight in the Vice President's residence over the past seven years. Gore was close enough to Disney that in 1995 he and his wife Tipper requested and received two "Beauty and the Beast" costumes worth $8,365, according to the Post, custom-made in Los Angeles to the Gores' precise measurements, for their annual Halloween party. The day before the event, the costumes arrived in Washington, along with a makeup artist to apply the mask that the vice president would wear. At the time, Disney was awaiting Justice Department and FCC approval of its $19 billion acquisition of American Broadcasting Company, Inc. (The deal was approved months later.) Disney is among Gore's most generous media supporters, having contributed $68,000 over the course of the politician's career.

Gore's fourth most generous "career patron" is Viacom. The company's executives and employees have steered $115,550 to Gore over the course of his career, the bulk of it, some $90,675, since the vice president began his quest to reach the White House. Time Warner's employees have contributed $57,200 to Gore, and itmerger partner, America Online, has given him $27,000.

Bush's Top Media Donors 2000*

COMPANY	AMOUNT
AMFM, Inc.	$80,250
Comcast Corp.	$32,000
Time Warner	$30,400
America Online	$23,000
Media One Group	$17,000

* as of June 30, 2000

Topping the list of George W. Bush's media patrons is AMFM Inc., owned by Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, Inc., of Dallas, a firm that specializes in leveraged buyouts. AMFM, the nation's largest chain of radio stations, and its various subsidiaries have contributed $80,250 to Bush's presidential campaign. Thomas Hicks, the firm's chairman, bought the Texas Rangers baseball team for $250 million in 1998 from the ownership group that included Bush. (The high sale price for the relatively small-market team was due in no small part to the taxpayer-financed stadium, the Ballpark at Arlington, which was built for the team while Bush, whose portion of the profit on the sale was $14.3 million, was an owner.)

The Rangers aren't Hicks' only sports property -- he also owns a hockey team, the Dallas Stars. In 1997, Governor Bush shepherded a bill through the state legislature that allowed a sales tax increase to fund a new arena for the team, as well as for the city's NBA franchise, the Dallas Mavericks.

Wetherell is a staff member of the Center for Public Integrity.